Aldermen begin posting expenses online

Saying they’ve got nothing to hide, two Calgary aldermen posted their expense claims online Tuesday.

Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart and Brian Pincott both emphasized the need for proactive disclosure after publishing their expenses. The aldermen also contended costly Freedom of Information requests aren’t always necessary.

“It’s such a waste of taxpayers’ money,” ColleyUrquhart said. “It’s kind of sad in a way that people have to resort to FOIP-ing elected officials in order to get this kind of information.”

The disclosure comes following official requests for disclosure of aldermanic expenses and itineraries through the public access to information law.

She urged a standardized set of rules governing information aldermen should release.

Pincott said the current accounting system is clunky.

Pincott said he operates on the basis that all of his receipts, emails and meetings are available to the public’s eyes.

“I live in a completely FOIP-able world,” he said.

“Any politician who doesn’t recognize that is foolish.”

The Ward 11 alderman expensed about $18,000, while his Ward 13 colleague, Colley-Urquhart, billed less than $10,000 in a two-year span between November 2010 to December 2012.

I live in a completely FOIP-able world. ALD. BRIAN PINCOTT